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I'll second this: I grew up there. If you live near downtown, you'll have nearly everything you need nearby, plus there are bike lanes and buses that have bike racks that go all over the city. The rent is not cheap, but you would probably find places cheaper than Boston.

You can bike down to Gallup Park for fishing along the Huron River or even rent a canoe.

Ann Arbor is a lot warmer than Madison, WI. I like Madison a lot, but since the winters are so brutal, it's not really comfortable walking everywhere in the winter. A2 can get cold, too, but it has a lot more of the freeze-thaw cycles, so there can be January days in the low 40s. Be prepared for lots of ice. Get yourself a pair of YakTrax.

There's something to be said about winters that are actually.....wintry (cold and snowy vs. cold and rainy). That being said, I didn't think Ann Arbor OR Madison were that different.

Good point. Walkable + affordable is tough. That let's me out. The West Coast doesn't really have any of those, except maybe Arcata, on the north coast of CA. Depends on if the OP could find a job in his field, whatever it is.

Work is another good point. I mean, considering he went to school in Ithaca, he probably has a degree from Cornell, which means his job prospects are pretty good. But in a lot of parts of the country, depending upon your field, you're not going to be able to find a job which is easily accessible by foot, bike, or transit even if you can live in a walkable neighborhood.

There are a lot of different recommendations here, but if Ithaca is your type of town, and for some reason is not viable right now, I agree with the recommendation of Ann Arbor and also Madison WI which is a big college town with numerous bike paths and is pedestrian friendly. Along with being a cool town with intellectual bendt (like AA), Madison is right on the Great Lakes making the outdoors a big part of the city's vibe.

Work is another good point. I mean, considering he went to school in Ithaca, he probably has a degree from Cornell, which means his job prospects are pretty good. But in a lot of parts of the country, depending upon your field, you're not going to be able to find a job which is easily accessible by foot, bike, or transit even if you can live in a walkable neighborhood.

Or Ithaca College, which has a solid music program(it actually started out as a music conservatory) and the Roy H. Park School of Communications, which is pretty good as well.

There are a lot of different recommendations here, but if Ithaca is your type of town, and for some reason is not viable right now, I agree with the recommendation of Ann Arbor and also Madison WI which is a big college town with numerous bike paths and is pedestrian friendly. Along with being a cool town with intellectual bendt (like AA), Madison is right on the Great Lakes making the outdoors a big part of the city's vibe.

Madison's not really on the Great Lakes, Milwaukee is. However, Madison is on an isthmus surrounded by medium sized lakes. Its a great location as you got many lakes around you, but Lake Michigan and Door County are a short drive east/northeast.

I would like to thank everybody so much for all these ideas! I am eagerly looking at all the cities mentioned in this thread and the job listings for each one. I was surprised to see Ann Arbor come up so often, and I never considered Pittsburgh before. I learned a lot from this thread!

For additional info, I have a degree from Cornell and work in medicine. I'm lucky that it's easy for me to relocate to urban areas and find work very quickly. The trade off is walking on foot in downtown areas, as a girl, can be a recipe for trouble (looking at you, Denver...). So thank you to all the posters that offered information on the walkability of your recommendations.

Unfortunately the job market in Ithaca is very poor, otherwise I would not need to post here! I have looked at living in Ithaca for the past 3 years but geez, the job market is just awful.

Last edited by gabyroro; 06-26-2017 at 02:00 PM..
Reason: Additional info for thread

Thank you in advance for helping me! I have scrolled through this forum for a couple years and it has really helped me get ideas for where to call home. This is my first time posting.

I am searching for a place to relocate. I am at a perfect place in my life to do so, nothing is tying me down. I'm young and employable with a great degree.

What I'm looking for:
- Smaller than Boston
- Cheaper than Boston for rent (which would be almost anyplace else)
- I will not have a car, so walkability is key.
- Trees! Greenery!
- I love fishing, so I gotta fish
- Safety
- Diversity

Currently living in Boston/Cambridge, MA. I've been spoiled growing up in Cambridge. Diversity, walkability, relative safety at night, best colleges in the world, amazing museums and the libraries are museums themselves (Boston Public Library has tours every day). I live without a car. However, rent is TOO DAMN HIGH.
I like the amenities of the city, but I love the outdoors. Boston has lots of parks, but they are so crowded and the freshwater fish are too polluted to eat.

I recently graduated from college in Ithaca, NY. I left my heart in Ithaca, it was like paradise! Very cold in the winter, but the Fingerlakes are so beautiful and ice fishing is fun. I will move back there someday.

I lived in Denver last year. Despite all the wonderful things I read about Denver here and on other forums, I really didn't like it. The inner city was NOT walkable (mistake moving there without a car), the scenery was brown and dry (I saw tumbleweed!), lots of crime downtown, and a surprising lack of diversity downtown too. Boulder was fun but I could not live there longterm. Too expensive/crunchy/organic/spiritual.

But... I made better friends in Denver than I ever have before. People were truly friendly. No competition. No rush. I was intimidated during my first month in Denver because strangers would say hi to me on the elevator or on the street or at the cash register, and wave at each other in cars; it freaked me out at first! Serious culture shock! It was my first time experiencing that kind of courtesy.

So now where do I go? I tried out Boulder and Denver and didn't like either. NYC and SF and Seattle are not cheap enough. I haven't been anywhere else. I do not know where to start looking for a new home.

I feel you on Boston. In general I desire a lot of what you say too.

I think you should look into some Great Lakes cities. Consider Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Madison, Cleveland, and wildcards: Grand Rapids and Duluth.

If you want to go carless, the easiest places to do this would be the Twin Cities or Cleveland. Both are smaller than Boston considerably and more spread out, but still maintain a city vibe. Some areas are more walkable than others. For what it's worth, I lived in Cleveland without a car. I rode a bike and took it on the train a lot. Got me wherever I needed to go, though having a car definitely helps for all these cities.

Milwaukee is good to consider too, kinda a smaller and cleaner Cleveland. Not sure if proximity to Chicago matters to you, but that is there if you ever feel like visiting a big city.

Places like Madison, Duluth, and Grand Rapids are much smaller than the others, but they are places that I've visited and think are pretty awesome towns. If you don't have a desire to constantly be experiencing new things or going to new restaurants and bars all the time, I think these places are great for solid communities and still having fun stuff around.

I would like to thank everybody so much for all these ideas! I am eagerly looking at all the cities mentioned in this thread and the job listings for each one. I was surprised to see Ann Arbor come up so often, and I never considered Pittsburgh before. I learned a lot from this thread!

For additional info, I have a degree from Cornell and work in medicine. I'm lucky that it's easy for me to relocate to urban areas and find work very quickly. The trade off is walking on foot in downtown areas, as a girl, can be a recipe for trouble (looking at you, Denver...). So thank you to all the posters that offered information on the walkability of your recommendations.

Unfortunately the job market in Ithaca is very poor, otherwise I would not need to post here! I have looked at living in Ithaca for the past 3 years but geez, the job market is just awful.

Cleveland checks all of your boxes, and if you have a medical degree you will be in high demand here. There are 3 major, highly regarded hospital systems: Cleveland Clinic, UH, and Metro Health. The city has become very vibrant and walkable, as well as highly affordable compared to the coasts. If you have a decent job, you can live extremely well here. Housing costs are 1/5 of what they are on the coasts.

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